Prevalence of Anemia and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women in Kigeme Refugee Camp, Rwanda.

Abstract

Background: The most prevalent nutritional deficiency experienced by pregnant women is anemia, which is defined as a hemoglobin level below 11 g/dl in a pregnant woman. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of anemia and identifying its associated factors among pregnant women in Kigeme Camp, Rwanda.

Methods: A cross-sectional, quantitative approach was used. Two hundred twenty one participants were chosen by a systematic sampling technique. A questionnaire was used to collect data and SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis. A p-value of 5% or less was set for significance. Multivariable analysis was utilized to identify the factors associated to anemia.

Results: The anemia prevalence among pregnant women in Kigeme Refugee Camp was 20.8%. Not eating variety of food (AOR= 4.72, 95%CI: 1.77-12.57, p=0.002), sleeping hungry (AOR=0.45, 95%CI: 0.27-0.73, p=0.001), iron/folic acid supplementation (AOR=5.83, 95%CI: 2.04-16.68, p=0.001), use of modern contraceptives (AOR=2.12, 95%CI: 1.09-4.10, p=0.025), bleeding during pregnancy (AOR=0.26, 95%CI: 0.17-0.64, p=0.001) and not eating food from animals were significantly associated to the occurrence of anemia among study participants.

Conclusion: The current study's findings will be critical for policymakers in designing strategic interventions; it will provide information necessary for different concerned stakeholders, especially clinicians and policy makers who involve in designing anemia curative and preventive measures.